By the time Austin Bohn got onto the mat in the 189-pound class on Wednesday night, the No. 1 Mount St. Joseph Gaels were already well on their way to a 46-15 victory over No. 3 Archbishop Curley. But that didn't stop Bohn, a junior, from adding an exclamation point.
In his match against Friars senior Mike Moore, Bohn came out with purpose, and like his teammates Karl Green (285) and Bobby Bowman (171), he pinned his opponent. But Bohn flattened Moore's shoulders in a mere 16 seconds.
The win improves Mount St. Joseph's record to 11-0, while Curley falls to 3-1.
"They knocked the wind out of our sails," Curley coach Gregg Kessler said. "And we're disappointed, but every one of my guys tried hard to win. We're just a little bit light in a couple weight classes, and Mount St. Joseph is a strong, first-class team."
Curley, undefeated and with a win over No. 4 Archbishop Spalding in the books, had a target on its back. Bowman, who said the Friars are always an eagerly anticipated rival, said the Gaels looked at this match as one of the toughest of the season because of Curley's win over Spalding.
"We knew they'd be tough, and they wrestled hard," Bowman said. "But we knew if we all wrestled our best, we could win. I definitely wanted six points for my team. It's also my senior year, and I wanted Curley to remember me."
The Friars took on Mount St. Joseph with four freshmen and two sophomores in their lineup and managed to hold the lead through the first seven matches. But after Curley junior Brett Przywara's 6-4 win at 130 for a 15-11 edge, it was all Mount St. Joseph.
"After 130, I knew we were going into the meat of our lineup," Gaels coach Paul Triplett said. "I was confident we'd do well, but there were a lot of close matches."
Gael Benny Schaufele, a senior, had to work hard at 145 to beat Curley sophomore Brett Brigman, and Mount St. Joseph junior Tyler Tippett had what was probably the most entertaining match of the night, as he and Curley senior Leo Johnson wrestled to 4-4 in regulation. Tippett eventually won the match at the end of four overtime periods by "riding out" (keeping Johnson from escaping his grasp) through the final two 30-second overtime periods.
"It's a good feeling to get this win," said Bohn, who was returning to the mat for the first time since separating his shoulder earlier this season. "My sophomore year, Curley came to our gym and beat us, and they chanted, 'Curley, Curley, Curley,' at our place. I still remember it."
And not, obviously, with affection.
"When my opponent took a shot, I just put my hands into him and he went down," Bohn said. "I used a double grapevine [entwining his opponent's legs in his] and, basically, it was over."